D

My God, I have never thanked thee for my thorn. I have thanked thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Thou divine Love whose human path has been perfected through sufferings, teach me the glory of my cross, teach me the value of my thorn.—George Matheson.

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CROSS IMPERISHABLE

Matthew Arnold had a brother-in-law, Mr. Cropper, who lived in Liverpool, and attended Sefton Park Church, where Dr. John Watson (“Ian Maclaren”) ministered. Visiting Mr. Cropper, Mr. Arnold accompanied him to church one Sunday morning, which proved to be Arnold’s last Sunday on earth. Dr. Watson preached on “The Shadow of the Cross”; and the congregation afterward sang the familiar hymn, “When I survey the wondrous cross.” At lunch that day Mr. Arnold referred to an illustration which the preacher had drawn from the Riviera earthquake. “In one village,” said Dr. Watson, “the huge crucifix above the altar, with a part of the chancel, remained unshaken amid the ruins, and round the cross the people sheltered.” “Yes,” remarked Arnold in speaking of this, “the cross remains, and in the straits of the soul makes its ancient appeal.” (Text.)

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CROSS, THE

Many preachers, while they do not ignore the cross, dim or obscure it by eliminating from it the element of redemption. But however obscured, it will emerge in human life, for the cross is the center of faith.

One of the most magnificent ecclesiastical structures in the world is the mosque of Hagia Sophia, or “Holy Wisdom,” commonly known in our language as St. Sophia. This was originally the famous temple erected by Constantine in 325, as a Christian church. But it was destroyed by fire in 404 in a riot connected with the exile of Chrysostom. Rebuilt at once, in 530 it was again burnt to the ground, and the present edifice was reared by Justinian, and on Christmas day of 537 was dedicated as a Christian cathedral. In 1453 it was converted into a mosque. Jesus was put aside for Mohammed, the cross was supplanted by the crescent, and the Bible was dethroned by the Koran. Yet tho in many places the cross is wholly hidden under plaster with fine filigree work, here and there it can be perceived. (Text.)

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CROSS, THE VEILED

The cross of Jesus Christ was to the Greeks foolishness and a stumbling-block of the Jews. They could not see its meaning; just as I have walked out on the porch of a north Georgia home two hours before day, and in the dim starlight I could see only the faint outline of mountain and hill. I could not tell what they were. It was an indistinct picture that had in it no meaning to me. I have gone back to my room and after a while have walked out on the porch again. The sun had risen on the scene and bathed hill and mountain and valley in a flood of light, and then I looked and saw hills and mountains and valleys and streams that mine eyes had never seen before.—“Famous Stories of Sam P. Jones.”

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CROWD AND THE EXCEPTION

Sam Walter Foss sings of the man who comes up from the crowd in these verses:

There’s a dead hum of voices all saying the same thing,And our forefathers’ songs are the songs that we sing,And the deeds by our fathers and grandfathers doneAre done by the son of the son of the son,And our heads in contrition are bowed.And lo, a call for a man who shall make all things newGoes down through the throng. See! he rises in view!Make room for the man who shall make all things new!For the man comes up from the crowd.And where is the man who comes up from the throng,Who does the new deed and sings the new song,Who makes the old world as a world that is new?And who is the man? It is you! It is you!And our praise is exultant and proud.We are waiting for you there—for you are the man!Come up from the jostle as soon as you can;Come up from the crowd there, for you are the man—The man who comes up from the crowd. (Text.)

There’s a dead hum of voices all saying the same thing,

And our forefathers’ songs are the songs that we sing,

And the deeds by our fathers and grandfathers done

Are done by the son of the son of the son,

And our heads in contrition are bowed.

And lo, a call for a man who shall make all things new

Goes down through the throng. See! he rises in view!

Make room for the man who shall make all things new!

For the man comes up from the crowd.

And where is the man who comes up from the throng,Who does the new deed and sings the new song,Who makes the old world as a world that is new?And who is the man? It is you! It is you!And our praise is exultant and proud.We are waiting for you there—for you are the man!Come up from the jostle as soon as you can;Come up from the crowd there, for you are the man—The man who comes up from the crowd. (Text.)

And where is the man who comes up from the throng,

Who does the new deed and sings the new song,

Who makes the old world as a world that is new?

And who is the man? It is you! It is you!

And our praise is exultant and proud.

We are waiting for you there—for you are the man!

Come up from the jostle as soon as you can;

Come up from the crowd there, for you are the man—

The man who comes up from the crowd. (Text.)

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CROWN, THE CHRISTIAN’S

A true Christian gladly works for the souls of the people without hope of any earthly fee or reward, but such an elevated policy naturally appears aimless to the selfish or unenlightened worldling.

Gipsy Smith says: “My father was once preaching in the open air at Leytonstone. A coster in his donkey-cart shouted out, ‘Go it, old party, you will get ’arf a crown for that job.’ My father stopt his address for a moment, and said quietly, ‘No, young man, you are wrong; my Master never gives half-crowns. He gives whole crowns.’” (Text.)

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CROWNING CHRIST

“Why did you put your five-dollar goldpiece in the missionary collection, instead of some silver?” Davie was asked. “Because,” he replied, “as the congregation sang, ‘Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all,’ I imagined that I could hear his steps coming down the aisle to receive his crown, and I did not want Him to wear a copper crown, or a silver crown, but a gold crown.” A part of the missionary work is giving gold for Christ’s coronation.

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Crucified—SeeMartyr Spirit.

CRUEL GREED

A missionary from a north China city wrote to theMissionary Review of the World:

Recently some professional procurers going the rounds of the cities of northern China buying girls for the brothels of Shanghai stopt here in their diabolical quest. They negotiated a sale with a mother living near us for her seventeen-year-old daughter. As this daughter’s feet were not small enough to command the sum desired, the mother arose at midnight while the children were sleeping and proceeded to beat the feet of the daughter in question to a pulp. The agonizing pain, the heartrending screams were of no avail. The feet were bound into a smaller compass by this process and a more advantageous sale expedited.

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Dr. William H. Leslie, for many years a missionary in the Kongo, recently confirmed many of the stories of the atrocities that have marked the rule of the Belgians in that country. This is what he says:

With my own eyes I have witnessed many of the most horrible examples of cruelty practised upon the poor natives in that country. I have seen natives with one hand cut off and I have seen them with both cut off, and in many cases the poor victims were children.Dr. Leslie also said that much of the cruelty had been practised in order to impress upon the blacks the necessity of their bringing to market the rubber wanted by their persecutors, and to emphasize the dire results that would follow their failure to do so.

Dr. Leslie also said that much of the cruelty had been practised in order to impress upon the blacks the necessity of their bringing to market the rubber wanted by their persecutors, and to emphasize the dire results that would follow their failure to do so.

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CRUELTY, CHINESE

There is a cruel custom which prevails in some districts in South China in time of drought. A large collection of brass locks is made, and each is marked with a Chinese character. One iron lock is added to the pile, and duplicate slips are distributed among all the male population of the villages. The unfortunate man whose slip holds the same writing on it as the iron lock must have a slit made in the front of his throat and through this, the bar of the iron lock passed. He is considered to be in some way the cause of the drought and must wear this lock until rain comes. Blood-poisoning often carries the victim off before the drought is broken.

As fast as Christian mission work prevails in China, these cruelties disappear.

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Cruelty from the Past—SeeMutual Suffering.

CRUELTY IN WORSHIP

Rev. W. B. Simpson, missionary among the Tamil people, writes of a most inhuman sacrifice, which was being offered in a village near Kumbakonam. A goat is brought, and its mouth tied up to prevent its crying out. Nails are driven into its nostrils, its mouth, ears, eyes, and the other two openings of the body. Then a hand-beating on its poor body takes place, which must be kept up till death comes to free the animal. This, the people claim, is worshiping God according to the Vedas, altho there is no foundation for it in any of its pages.

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CRUELTY TO BIRDS

The following is reported by theDaily Sentinel, of Fairmount, Minnesota:

A mother dove had been the target of some small boy. The bullet had passed through her breast, and had left her only strength enough to flutter homeward and reach the nest, where a half-grown fledgling awaited her coming.Dying, she had snuggled up against her little one, her life-blood pulsing out over her own white breast and against that of her young. And there, with eyes staring wide, she breathed her last, and the fledgling starved, and then froze. The two were found with their heads prest together as in a last embrace.The owner of the dove-house brought them down-town just as they rested in the nest, and the sight and the suffering of which it spoke were enough to melt the hardest heart.The boy with the rifle may cause a like tragedy again, and many times.

Dying, she had snuggled up against her little one, her life-blood pulsing out over her own white breast and against that of her young. And there, with eyes staring wide, she breathed her last, and the fledgling starved, and then froze. The two were found with their heads prest together as in a last embrace.

The owner of the dove-house brought them down-town just as they rested in the nest, and the sight and the suffering of which it spoke were enough to melt the hardest heart.

The boy with the rifle may cause a like tragedy again, and many times.

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CRUELTY TO CHILDREN

Edward Gilleat tells of some of the horrors of the African slave-trade:

Children are thrown with the baggage on the camels if unable to walk; but if they are five or six years of age the poor little creatures are obliged to trot on all day with bleeding feet. The daily allowance of food was sometimes a quart of dates in the morning and half a pint of flour, made into a bazeen, in the evening. None of the owners ever moved without their whips, which were in constant use. Drinking too much water, bringing too little wood, or falling asleep before the cooking was finished were considered almost capital crimes. No excuses were taken; the whip exacted a fearful penalty. Sometimes the little children would cry bitterly for water when the hot east wind was blowing; if they fell down, the Moors would haul them up roughly and drag them along violently, beating them incessantly till they had overtaken the camels.—“Heroes of Modern Crusades.”

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CRYING BENEFICIAL

A French physician contends that groaning and crying are two grand operations by which nature allays anguish; that those patients who give way to their natural feelings more speedily recover from accidents and operations than those who suppose it unworthy in a man to betray such symptoms of cowardice as either to groan or cry. He tells of a man who reduced his pulse from 126 to 60 in the course of a few hours by giving full vent to his emotion. If people are unhappy about anything, let them go into their rooms and comfort themselves with a loud boo-hoo, and they will feel one hundred per cent better afterward. In accordance with this, the crying of children should not be too greatly discouraged. What is natural is nearly always useful. (Text.)—American Homeopathist.

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Cultivation—SeeSelection by Purpose;Success by Experimentation.

Culture Counts—SeeTraining.

Culture Not Everything—SeeGenius.

CUNNING

Almost always when you meet a fox in the woods he pretends not to see you, but changes his course casually, as if, perhaps, he had just heard a mouse over there among the stumps. He does not increase his speed in the slightest degree until he is behind some tree or rock; then away he goes at a tremendous rate, always keeping the tree between you and himself until well out of gunshot.—Witmer StoneandWilliam Everett Cram, “American Animals.”

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Cunning Among Animals—SeeSubtlety Among Animals.

Cure by Reversal—SeeReversed Attitude.

Cure from Bible Reading—SeeMind-healing.

CURIOSITY

The catbird has the courage of his convictions, and one of these convictions is that he has the right to the satisfaction of an ungovernable and enormous curiosity. Bait your bird-trap in the woods with something which strikes a bird as a curiosity that courts immediate investigation and you will catch a catbird. Other birds might start for it, but the catbird would distance them.—Winthrop Packard, “Wild Pastures.”

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Curiosity in a Boy—SeeConscience a Monitor.

CURIOSITY, RATIONALE OF

When the child learns that he can appeal to others to eke out his store of experiences, so that, if objects fail to respond interestingly to his experiments, he may call upon persons to provide interesting material, a new epoch sets in. “What is that?” “Why?” become the unfailing signs of a child’s presence. At first this questioning is hardly more than a projection into social relations of the physical overflow which earlier kept the child pushing and pulling, opening and shutting. He asks in succession what holds up the house, what holds up the soil that holds the house, what holds up the earth that holds the soil; but his questions are not evidence of any genuine consciousness of rational connections. His why is not a demand for scientific explanation; the motive behind it is simply eagerness for a larger acquaintance with the mysterious world in which he is placed. The search is not for a law or principle, but only for a bigger fact. Yet there is more than a desire to accumulate just information or heap up disconnected items, altho sometimes the interrogating habit threatens to degenerate into a mere disease of language. In the feeling, however dim, that the facts which directly meet the senses are not the whole story, that there is more behind them and more to come from them, lies the germ of intellectual curiosity.—John Dewey, “How We Think.”

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Current, Double—SeeJoy and Sorrow.

CURRENTS OF LIFE

The waters of the Pacific are tempered for a certain width with a warm current flowing north from the tropics. The temperature of Alaska is affected by it, and the result of its genial influence is increased vegetation and civilization. But for this life-giving stream Alaska would be as destitute and uninhabitable as Labrador.

But for the enriching stream of Christian life the whole world would now be a moral Labrador. (Text.)

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CURRENTS, UTILIZING

Sir Wyville Thompson and, later, Sir John Murray, unraveled some of the mysteries of the hidden depths of the sea, such as the Gulf stream and the waters that wash the Cape of Good Hope. They have found that there are currents flowing over one another in different directions, as in the case of air-currents above us. The aim is to be able to utilize these cross-currents, both of air and water, for the benefit of man.

Still more were it wise to use the many and even the contrary currents of life so as to make all serve man’s best interests.

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Curse of Drink—SeeDrink and Native Races.

CURSING FORBIDDEN

Bishop Benzler used to be a great favorite of the German Emperor, but recently the bishop fell into one of those quarrels about burial-grounds that in Germany, as well as in England and Wales, seem to have a great power of making people forget Christian charity. The bishop, because a Protestant had been buried in this ground, went to the extreme step of declaring that the ground had been desecrated, and decided to curse it.The Emperor was furious when he heard of this, and when the bishop was imprudent enough to demand an audience, he let loose upon the head of the unfortunate ecclesiastic a flood of eloquent wrath which submerged him. Here is the principal passage:“Your Reverence,” said the Emperor, “has asked for an audience, and I have granted it because I, also, have a few words to say to you. Before leaving Alsace-Lorraine I must tell your Reverence that your attitude has greatly displeased me. You were represented to me as a mild and peaceable man; your actions prove the contrary. You have done worse things than the worst fanatic. You have curst a cemetery situated on German soil, the German soil over which I rule. Do not forget, your Reverence, that I, as German Emperor, will never tolerate that even one inch of German soil should becurst—no, not one inch! It is a bishop’s duty to bless, and the moment you begin to curse you cease to be fit for your high position.” (Text.)

The Emperor was furious when he heard of this, and when the bishop was imprudent enough to demand an audience, he let loose upon the head of the unfortunate ecclesiastic a flood of eloquent wrath which submerged him. Here is the principal passage:

“Your Reverence,” said the Emperor, “has asked for an audience, and I have granted it because I, also, have a few words to say to you. Before leaving Alsace-Lorraine I must tell your Reverence that your attitude has greatly displeased me. You were represented to me as a mild and peaceable man; your actions prove the contrary. You have done worse things than the worst fanatic. You have curst a cemetery situated on German soil, the German soil over which I rule. Do not forget, your Reverence, that I, as German Emperor, will never tolerate that even one inch of German soil should becurst—no, not one inch! It is a bishop’s duty to bless, and the moment you begin to curse you cease to be fit for your high position.” (Text.)

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CURVES OF TEMPTATION

An efficient baseball player tries to get at the secret of the pitcher’s curves; and the player in the game of life will look well to the curves of the world. This is a good world, and the men and women in it are of royal lineage—we are of God; but the glorious gift of liberty makes possible temptation and sin.Because you ought to do right it is possible that you may yield to temptation, and failing to overcome a world curve be compelled to give up your place at the homeplate.—T. E. Potterton.

Because you ought to do right it is possible that you may yield to temptation, and failing to overcome a world curve be compelled to give up your place at the homeplate.—T. E. Potterton.

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CUSTOM

Whether in architecture, or in education, or in dress, or in other affairs of life, custom rules in Korea. Custom explains everything.“What about this absurdity?” “Oh, it’s custom.” “Yes, but see here, why are the dead propt up on sticks and not buried?” “Oh, it’s custom.” “Do you sometimes marry off children as early as nine years of age?” “Yes, that’s custom.”The reader must learn this word if he would understand old Korea, and if he would read into much of the life of the East still The forefather may have been an imbecile, or may have walked in his sleep, but what he did has come down, down to the present, and custom maintains that it is the sane and right thing to do.“Why do you feed all these idle tramps, who come calling at your door, and you a poor man?” I once asked of my host.He replied, “It’s custom, and for my life I can’t get out of it.” “What about these dolmens set up all through these valleys here like tables of the gods; what do they mean?” “They were set up by the Chinese invader, thousands of years ago, to crush out the ground influence that brought forth Korean warriors.”“You mean that they have stifled out the life of the nation for all these centuries?” “Yes.” “Then why don’t you roll them off and get back your lost vigor?” “Oh, that’s no use now, never do.” “As it was, is now, and ever shall be,” is the only reply.—James S. Gale, “Korea in Transition.”

Whether in architecture, or in education, or in dress, or in other affairs of life, custom rules in Korea. Custom explains everything.

“What about this absurdity?” “Oh, it’s custom.” “Yes, but see here, why are the dead propt up on sticks and not buried?” “Oh, it’s custom.” “Do you sometimes marry off children as early as nine years of age?” “Yes, that’s custom.”

The reader must learn this word if he would understand old Korea, and if he would read into much of the life of the East still The forefather may have been an imbecile, or may have walked in his sleep, but what he did has come down, down to the present, and custom maintains that it is the sane and right thing to do.

“Why do you feed all these idle tramps, who come calling at your door, and you a poor man?” I once asked of my host.

He replied, “It’s custom, and for my life I can’t get out of it.” “What about these dolmens set up all through these valleys here like tables of the gods; what do they mean?” “They were set up by the Chinese invader, thousands of years ago, to crush out the ground influence that brought forth Korean warriors.”

“You mean that they have stifled out the life of the nation for all these centuries?” “Yes.” “Then why don’t you roll them off and get back your lost vigor?” “Oh, that’s no use now, never do.” “As it was, is now, and ever shall be,” is the only reply.—James S. Gale, “Korea in Transition.”

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Custom, Disregarded—SeePilot, Need of.

CUSTOM, FORCE OF

Dr. Harlan P. Beach says:

In China there are customs which are more important than etiquette. I met a man who had been shaking from head to feet “You have had chills and fever, haven’t you?” I said sympathizingly. He came very near taking my head off, because there is a special god who runs chills and fever, and if he hears a man has chills and fever and is getting over it, he will give him another shake. I had gone against their deadly custom. Another incident of the same sort happened one day when a doctor of divinity saw a cheap sedan chair and bought it. A millionaire globe-trotter used it that day for sight-seeing, and when he reached the missionary compound, he exclaimed, “I have been outrageously treated by the heathen. The whole city was out laughing at me. As soon as I appeared, every man rushed out of his shop, and the streets were in an uproar.” The doctor of divinity asked his native teacher for an explanation. Now, a teacher is never supposed to smile from one day’s end to another, but that dignified teacher, glass, goggles, and all, doubled up with laughter when he saw the chair. “You really must excuse me,” he said, “but that kind of a chair is used only in funeral processions for the spirit of the dead to ride in.” It was as tho a man should ride through our city sitting up in a hearse.

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Custom Upheld—SeeExperience a Hard Teacher.

Customs, Oriental—SeeGestures and Use of the Hands in the East.

Customs, Value of—SeeExperience a Hard Teacher.

Cycles in Nature—SeeInvisible, The, Made Visible.

CYNIC REBUKED

The late A. T. Gordon, D.D., told this incident:

A certain infidel, a blacksmith, was in the habit when any one came into his shop of telling what some Christian brother or deacon or minister had done, and say, “Thatis one of their fine Christians we hear so much about!”An old gentleman, an eminent Christian, one day went into the shop; the infidel soon began about what some Christians had done. The old deacon stood a few moments, and listened, and then quietly asked the infidel if he had read the story in the Bible about the rich man and Lazarus.“Yes, many a time; and what of it?”“Well, you remember about the dogs; how they came and licked the sores of Lazarus? Now,” said the deacon, “do you know, you just remind me of those dogs—content to merely lick the Christian’s sores.”The blacksmith grew suddenly pensive, and hasn’t had much to say about failing Christians since. (Text.)

An old gentleman, an eminent Christian, one day went into the shop; the infidel soon began about what some Christians had done. The old deacon stood a few moments, and listened, and then quietly asked the infidel if he had read the story in the Bible about the rich man and Lazarus.

“Yes, many a time; and what of it?”

“Well, you remember about the dogs; how they came and licked the sores of Lazarus? Now,” said the deacon, “do you know, you just remind me of those dogs—content to merely lick the Christian’s sores.”

The blacksmith grew suddenly pensive, and hasn’t had much to say about failing Christians since. (Text.)

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DAILY CHARACTER WORK

In character-building, just as in housebuilding, every day’s work ought to count for good. If the house builders do one day’s work carelessly, dishonestly, or in violation of the architect’s plan, the result is liable to be serious, no matter how well the work is done thereafter. An unsound spot in the wall, a beam not properly placed, or any other feature of a misspent working day, will render questionable the soundness and safety of the entire structure when the strain of use and occupation comes. So the wasted day of one’s life may fix a flaw in the character, which will expose that character to grave perils, when certain temptations and trials assail it.—The Interior.

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Dancing—SeeDegradation;Risk Shifted.

Danger—SeeLove as a Siding;Quietness in Danger.

DANGER, AVOIDING

Birds who sleep on the water—and they are numerous—are always in danger of drifting to the shore, where lies their greatest danger. In the Zoological Gardens of London it has been discovered that ducks and other water-lovers have evolved a way of avoiding this danger. Tucking one foot up among their feathers, they keep the other in the water and gently paddle, with the result that they revolve in circles and keep at a safe distance from land, a kind of sleepwalking turned to good account.—Olive Thorne Miller, “The Bird Our Brother.”

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DANGER, COURTING

A few years ago a tenderfoot went out West looking for grizzly. He was all togged out in the newest style of hunting-suit, and dawned like an incredible vision, on the astonished inhabitants west of the Missouri. He asked them where he could find a grizzly, and they told him reverently that at a certain place not far from there grizzlies were numerous and would come if you whistled. Light-heartedly he took his way to the place indicated and two days later they buried his mangled remains in the local cemetery. Over his innocent young head they erected a tombstone whereon they rudely carved this epitaph:“He whistled for the grizzly, and the grizzly came.”

“He whistled for the grizzly, and the grizzly came.”

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DANGER FROM BELOW

Moral disaster to character is often wrought by the inrush of animal tendencies stored in the lower nature of man.

At various times during the construction of the Simplon Tunnel work has been retarded by the influx of water from underground springs. In the autumn of 1901 a stream of water burst into the Italian workings, and, attaining a discharge of nearly 8,000 gallons per minute, speedily converted the two headings into canals. Several months elapsed before the flow could be overcome. (Text.)—The Scientific American.

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DANGER LESSENED

The danger of fire on the great transatlantic steamship is no longer to be dreaded. Fire in a compartment can be isolated by the closing of the bulkhead doors, and the flames may then be fought by forcing into the burning section of the hull carbonic-acid gas, steam and water. Fires occur from time to time on liners but they are extinguished soreadily, and are so easily confined, that the passengers seldom know anything about them. Should an explosion take place in the engine-room of a modern steamship, the doors would close automatically, preventing the escape of steam and fire.

No such devices avail with the human soul. A man can not allow the fire of lust or sin in one compartment of his being and then keep it out of the remainder. The old doctrine of total depravity was based on this unity and totality of character, such that a taint at one point was believed to be a taint of the whole nature.

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Danger, Rushing Into—SeeWilfulness.

DANGER STIMULATING EXERTION

In the homeward voyage of the Atlantic fleet, on its cruise around the world, a historian of its experiences tells of a rescue of one of the sailors in a great storm that arose. The storm was at its height and there ran through the fleet a report that theMinnesotahad lost a man overboard. The signal, indicating that fact, went up to the foremast and the fleet stopt.

Could they save the man? It was noticed that theMinnesotaswung around a little, as if to afford a lee, and theVermontfollowing held true. A life-buoy had been thrown to the struggling man, and he, being a good swimmer, caught it, and drifted down toward theVermont. Those on theVermontsaw him and ran their bow up close to him, turned it a little so as to afford shelter, and were preparing to lower a boat for him. A life-line was thrown overboard, and, to the astonishment of those on theVermont, the man left the life-buoy and swam for the line. Those on board shouted to him not to do it; but he took the chance, swam to the life-line and wrapt it around his wrist and was drawn on board theVermont. The next day we heard that there was a similar rescue by theKentuckyof a man lost from theKearsarge.

The imminent danger caused strenuous exertion. Similarly the man in moral peril can only keep out of danger by exerting all his powers. (Text.)

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DARKNESS

It is one of the many marvels of wireless telegraphy that the ether waves which carry its messages, unlike light waves, suffer no absorption in mist or fog. Quite the opposite, in fact, is the case, for the effect on them of clear sunshine is so marked that they can be sent with equal initial power only less than half the distance by day as by night. For this reason press dispatches and long-distance messages sent by wireless telegraphy are, whenever possible, committed to the ether waves after sunset.

“He knoweth what is in the darkness.” This is what the prophet says in connection with the affirmation, “He revealeth the deep and secret things.” We must not imagine that darkness is symbolical only of evil. The shadow is as beneficent as the sunbeam. (Text.)

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The love of evil prowlers for the darkness is not confined to the insects named in the extract. It is also a characteristic of those who hunt men’s souls; the saloon-keeper thrives best by his night trade.

Tarantulas are night prowlers; they do all their hunting after dark, dig their holes, and, indeed, carry on all the various business of their life in the night-time. The occasional one found walking about in daytime has made a mistake, someway, and he blunders around quite like an owl in the sunshine. (Text.)—Vernon L. Kellogg, “Insect Stories.”

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A whimsical treatise entitled, “William Ramsay’s Vindication of Astrology,” propounds the absurd theory that the absence of the sun is not the cause of night, but that there are tenebrificous stars by whose influence night is brought on, and which ray out darkness and obscurity upon the earth as the sun does light.

Are there not some men and some institutions that shed darkness rather than light on the world? (Text.)

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Those who love darkness rather than light are morally blind. Here is a case of physical blindness:

Richmond, Va., has a nineteen-year-old boy, Audrey Wilson, who is totally blind in the day, but can see like a cat at night. He can speed a bicycle where ordinary persons have to walk with caution; but in the day he gropes about, able only vaguely to distinguish any object and with no discrimination as to colors. He is quite a possum hunter. He can easily distinguish the animals in the trees without the aid of a lantern. Needless to say, young Wilson is in great demand by possum hunters.—Leslie’s Weekly.

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SeeShadow;Solitude, Lesson of.

DARKNESS DEVELOPING CHARACTER

Darkness seems to be as necessary to life and growth in this world as is light. An earnest, tireless worker for Christ who has recently suffered through months of illness, writes a cheery word of sympathy to a fellow sufferer, and adds about herself: “It is a long time since I have done a day’s work; it is only a half-hour’s work, or maybe fifteen minutes at a time. And many days have been in a dark room. I wonder, sometimes, if a ‘dark room’ is as necessary for the developing of character as it is for the developing of negatives. If so, perhaps a time will come when I can look back upon the dark-room days with thankfulness. Just now, I want to work.” To wait and to trust, if God directs that, even while one longs to be out in the light and at work, is to gain and grow in the development which only the dark room can give. (Text.)

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Darkness Frightens—SeeFear of Man.

DARKNESS, GROWTH IN

There is a darkness which helps and sweetens. Disappointments, difficulties, discouragements, and all things dark, come to us apparently to depress us, but these are part of the experience which helps us. Black charcoal will keep water sweet. Bulbs must be buried in the darkness if they are to grow. In the winter a florist endeavored with success to grow some bulbs without placing them in the ground. He gathered some small stones and put them into basins, placing the bulbs on the top of the stones. Then he poured in sufficient water to touch the bulbs, and to conserve the sweetness of the water he introduced little pieces of charcoal among the stones. He then placed the basin in a dark cupboard and kept them there for ten weeks, and when he took them out the green leaves of the bulbs were showing. (Text.)

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DARKNESS, INFLUENCE OF

The nature of most birds seems so full of vitality and gladness that the nocturnal habits of certain species make a more melancholy impression than is their due. The nightingale’s song is essentially strong and spirited; but the bird has acquired a lasting reputation for dolorousness, partly owing to the influence of darkness and solitude on the mind of the midnight listener, but largely because of its apparent preference for night over day. Half the impression of melancholy vanishes from the nightingale’s nocturnal song, once the hearer has learned to recognize the same music in the confusing midday chorus. The owl’s reputation, which is sinister rather than merely mournful, is equally little deserved. We do not set down the jackdaw as a maleficent fowl for haunting church-yards and ruins, or the jay for its harshness of voice; but both these qualities have been enough to excite an historic prejudice against owls. Yet, if once the associations of old superstitions are dispelled, owls are recognized as among the most companionable of birds, and their cries in the winter nights as some of the most heartening sounds in nature.—LondonTimes.

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DAUGHTERS ESTIMATED

The woman’s place in Korea is, first as daughter, one of contempt. A missionary’s little six-year-old once came to him with tears in her eyes and said: “Papa, I have a question.” “Yes, what is it?” “Are you sorry that I wasn’t a boy?” “Well, I should say not; I wouldn’t trade you for a dozen boys. But why do you ask?”She said, “The Koreans were talking just now, and they pointed at me and said, ‘What a pity that she wasn’t a boy!’”—James S. Gale, “Korea in Transition.”

She said, “The Koreans were talking just now, and they pointed at me and said, ‘What a pity that she wasn’t a boy!’”—James S. Gale, “Korea in Transition.”

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Dawn Eternal—SeeSoul Flight.

DAWN OF CHRISTIAN LIGHT

It is related that near the North Pole, the night lasting for months, when the peopleexpect the day is about to dawn, some messengers go up to the highest point to watch; and when they see the first streak of day, they put on their brightest possible apparel, and embrace each other and say, “Behold the sun.” The cry goes all around the land, “Behold the sun.” We see signs and wonders being done through Jesus. And as we see the dawning of the light in almost every nation under heaven, let us cry out to every human soul, “Behold the sun.” (Text.)

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DAYBREAK

The poem found below, by P. Habberton Fulham, in LondonOutlook, gives a striking figure that would well symbolize a human experience in passing from a season of darkness and trouble into one of joy and light:

As some great captain, ere the morn be red,Might watch his tired ranks sleeping in the dew,Linger a moment, with some sense of rue,Then bid réveillé sound o’er quick and dead—So the loth sun-god leaves his cloudy bed,Then, swift the heavy hangings striding through,Bids the dawn’s silver bugles sound anew,His golden banners streaming overhead—Like camp-fire smoke the mist of morning stirs,Like strewed arms seem the dewy glistenings,And, as that shining clarion peals on high,Up spring the trees like bright-faced warriors,Behind him each his cloak of shadow flings,And one great shout of color shakes the sky! (Text.)

As some great captain, ere the morn be red,

Might watch his tired ranks sleeping in the dew,

Linger a moment, with some sense of rue,

Then bid réveillé sound o’er quick and dead—

So the loth sun-god leaves his cloudy bed,

Then, swift the heavy hangings striding through,

Bids the dawn’s silver bugles sound anew,

His golden banners streaming overhead—

Like camp-fire smoke the mist of morning stirs,

Like strewed arms seem the dewy glistenings,

And, as that shining clarion peals on high,

Up spring the trees like bright-faced warriors,

Behind him each his cloak of shadow flings,

And one great shout of color shakes the sky! (Text.)

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DAY BY DAY LIVING

These words found in theChurch Advocateare by Adelaide A. Proctor:

Do not look at life’s long sorrow;See how small each moment’s pain;God will help thee for to-morrow,So each day begin again.Every hour that fleets so slowlyHas its task to do or bear;Luminous the crown and holy,When each gem is set with care.Do not linger with regretting,Or for passing hours despond;Nor, thy daily toil forgetting,Look too eagerly beyond.Hours are golden links, God’s token,Reaching heaven; but, one by one,Take them, lest the chain be brokenEre the pilgrimage be done.

Do not look at life’s long sorrow;

See how small each moment’s pain;

God will help thee for to-morrow,

So each day begin again.

Every hour that fleets so slowly

Has its task to do or bear;

Luminous the crown and holy,

When each gem is set with care.

Do not linger with regretting,Or for passing hours despond;Nor, thy daily toil forgetting,Look too eagerly beyond.Hours are golden links, God’s token,Reaching heaven; but, one by one,Take them, lest the chain be brokenEre the pilgrimage be done.

Do not linger with regretting,

Or for passing hours despond;

Nor, thy daily toil forgetting,

Look too eagerly beyond.

Hours are golden links, God’s token,

Reaching heaven; but, one by one,

Take them, lest the chain be broken

Ere the pilgrimage be done.

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DAY-BY-DAY VIRTUES

The prayer contained in these verses, by Ethelwyn Wetherald, is a good one for everybody to offer:

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